Improvement in power-looms



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

.roi-1N eLEDniLL, or NEw vonk, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN POWER-LGOMS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 10,223, dated November 15, 1853.

T0 all whom t may conc-e771..-

Be it known that I, JOHN GLEDHILL, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Power-Looms; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction'and operation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which-- Figure l is a front elevation of a powerloom constructed according to my improvements and intended for weaving hair-cloth. Figi is a longitudinal vertical section of the saine. Fig. 3 is a plan of the same with the top part of the framing and the harness-motion omitted. Fig. 4 is a side view of certain parts of the same intended to illustrate the operation of what I term the automatic server. Fig. 5 is a front view of the fillingnippers which draw the weft through the warp. Fig. G is a front sectional view of the double hopper which contains the hairs for the weft. Fig. 7 is aplan of what I term the drag for keeping proper tension on the hairs of the weft while they are being iilled in. Fig. 8 is an enlarged view of one of the serving-hooks.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in each of the several iigures.

The improvements which constitute this invention are for the most part intended only to be applied to the weaving of hair-cloth (which I believe has never before been successfully woven by a power-loom) or of any material of a similar character-that is to say, a material whose weft is not continuous, but is composed of a number of detached threads; but certain of these improvements are applicable to any powerl0om. By their use the following results are obtained in weaving hair-cloth: First, the quantity woven in a given time is increased; second, only one attendant is required for two looms, two attendants being required with everyone of the present looms; third, the stock is economized, and, fourth, the quality of the manufacture is improved.

The rst part of the invention relates to the lay-motion and is applicable to looms of every description. It is desirable in all looms to allow as much time as possible for the passage of the shuttle or other device which carries the weft through the shed. This is more particularly the case in weaving hair-cloth, as the device which takes the hair must pass through the shed and return while itis open.

` Time may be gained for this purpose by al.-

lowing the lay to be kept back as long as possible in the widest part of the shed.

The nature of this part of my invention consists in transmitting motion from the cranks to the lay by jointed connecting-rods, or connecting-rods formed in two pieces, one of which is connected to the lay and the other' to the crank and both connected together by a suitable joint, andin connecting them at the joint with a radius-rod capable of working freely on a fixed center. By this means I am enabled to retard the latter part of the motion of the lay in going back and the first part in beating up, and the lay is thus kept longer in the wider part ot' the shed. y

The other parts of my invention are only applicable to the weaving of hair-cloth and other materials of a similar character with a continuons warp and a weft composed of detached threads. In weaving hair-cloth in the common way the hairs require to be laid in such succession that the root end of one' hair will be next the point of the other, owing to he difference in the thickness of the two ends, and hence the hairs are held in two bunches by the left hand of an attendant, termed a server, one bunch having the roots and the other the points convenient to be seized hy the right hand, to be placed in the open sheds in propersuccession. Each hair when entered in the shed is seized with a suitable instrumentby the tender on the opposite side and drawn through when the lay is beaten up. I propose to perform the whole of these operations by self-acting machinery, by which I can use hair or filling-threads from any number of bunches. y

The second part of my invention consists in what I term the automatic server, which is a block or head fitting so as to turn freely on a pivot in an arm attached to the breastbeam of the loom-frame, or to any other convient part thereof, and having a series of hooks, which are formed t0 take one or more hairs or threads at a time, and are arranged in such a manner that when a proper motion is given to the head they will take the weft hairs or threads from the several bunches in proper succession and bring them to a position to be taken bythe instrument which draws them through the open shed.

The third part of my invention consists in a pair of nippers so constructed and operated as to pass through the shed from the opposite side to the side where the hairs or threads are in readiness to be taken -by them to seize the weft hair or thread from the server and to return through the shed with the hair or thread, which it lays across the shed and leaves therein as soon as it is beaten up.

The fourth part of the invention consists in what I term a drag for producing a proper tension on the weft hairs or threads to keep them straight while being drawn through the shed. This drag is attached to the lay and is composed of a movable iinger and a fixed stud, between which the hair or thread is slightly pinched by the action of a springon the finger, the iinger having such a motion as will allow it to work clear of the nippers as they pass forth and back through the shed.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

The frame A and the arrangement of the crank-shaft B, harness shaft C, lay D, and the yarn and cloth rolls are the same as in most other power-looms.

The arrangement for transmitting motion from the cranks to the lay is best shown in Fig. 2. The connecting-rods consist each of the main rod E, which is the longest part, and is attached to the lay by a pivot a and the link F, which connects with the cra-nk, the main rod and link being connected together by a pivot b, which serves also to connect the 'radius-rod G, which works on the fixed center pin b'.

The opera-tion of the parts may bel perfeetly understood by the pale gray lines in Fig. 2, which indicate the revolution of the crank, the movements of the pivots a and Z) and crank-pin c, and the positions of the paris at the end of the stroke and the half and back quarter revolutions of the crank.

The proportions shown for the 'various parts make the lay perform only one-eleventh part of its movement during the back quarter-revolution of the crank and about two-iifths during the hack half-revolution; but by shorten- .ing the link F the back part of the motion of the lay may be still further retarded, the shortest motion being obtained by giving the link F the same radius as the crank. The movement given to the lay is the full throw of the crank, the efl'ect of the link and radiusrod being to increase the speed during the forward portion of the motion, but to decrease it during the backward portion, and thus to keep it longer in a backward position.

The loom represented requires only two leaves of harness but that is sutlicient to eX- plain my improvement in the harness-motion. Each leaf is suspended at the extremities of two cords d d', of which (l is attached to the right-hand end of both leaves and d to the opposite end, the said cords passing over pulleys H Il Il', which work at the back of the top rail I of the frame and around the pulley J, whose axle is in the upper end of a rod K, which works vertically in guides e e outside the frame. The rod K has a spiral spring f,

applied to it in such a manner as to draw it downward. The bottoms of the leaves of the harness are attached to treadles L L, which are moved by cams M M on the shaft D in a well-known way. One harness is always caused to rise by the cords d and d when the other is depressed by the treadles, and thus both are balanced, while a proper tension is preserved on each by theaction of the spring f in drawing down the pulleys, both being kept at all times perfectly steady and free from jumping.

The hopper in the loom shown requires only two compartments-one for that bunch of hair which is to be passed root end first through the warp and thevot-her for the bunch to be passed through point or thin end first- It may he formed of sheet or cast metal or wood, and is attached to the left sideof the frame, consisting of two V-shaped troughs g g, arranged parallel with each other side by side longitudinally to the loom and having open ends. A narrow slit 7L (see Figs. 2 and 4) is made transversely across the bottoms of both, extending nearly to the top. The hair (shown in blue in the drawings) is kept partly in a barrel or upright cylinder or pot M of water, (as is always the ease in weaving haircloth,) with the parts near the ends lying in the trough g g, the ends protruding through the front of the trough. A cord 1', which is attached to the frame at the side of the troughs, passes through the slit 7L above the bunches of hair and has a weight N suspended to it, which keeps the hair tight in the trough and forces it toward the bottom.

Attached to the breast-beam of the loom and extending back is the arm O, which carries the automatic server. This arm 'O is better to be made of metal and should loe attached to the beam in such a way as to be adjustable back and forth. It may also be ad justable sidewise.

The head P consists of a square block of wood or metal, which is pivoted at its center to one side of the arm, and has on one face four studs 7c, one of which is caught and acted upon by a hook l, attached to the lay, every time the lay recedes in such a manner as to make it perform one-quarter of a revolution, being prevented from turning farther through any shock by a spring bearing-piece m, which is forced against the back side by a spiral spring m', the spring yielding to the operation of the hook l, but preventing the head being turned accidentally.

On each of the four sides of the head P there is a serving-hook n, which consists of a curved piece of steel secured at one end to the head in'any convenient way, and having a V-shaped notch at its other extremity. These hooks require to be alternately at opposite ends of the head, or so arranged that their notches are opposite the centers of the troughs g g of the hopper, the order of succession being such as may be required, aecording to the nature of the fabric.

For weaving hair-cloth the hair requires to be taken from each bunch alternately', and thus the hooks require to be at opposite ends alternately. Every time the lay recedes the hook l turns the head P, and one of the serving-hooks '1t takes a single hair in its notch and draws it forward from the bunch to such a position that the nippers will seize it. This is illustrated in Fig. 4, where the server is supposed to have just operated and the nippers to have just arrived in position to receive the hair fu, when they close. For some kinds of work it may be necessary to take two or more hairs or threads at a time, and then theI serving-hooks would be made with two or more notches; but when only one hair or thread is required the serving-hook should have only one notch, whose shape should be such as could not take more than one hair. If the center of the notches in the hooks be opposite the centers or vertices of the troughs g g, the hooks will never fail to take a hair as long as one remains in their respective troughs. It maybe well to observe that in order to prevent the hair caught by the hooks from slip- Y ping out l raise abulb or knob on every hair before using it; but as this forms no part ot the present invention it is not necessary further to describe it.

The nippers by which the hairs are pulled through the warp consist of two long rods Q R, terminating` in jaws 0 p. These bars must be long enough to extend clear through the warp and leave the jaws protruding` on one side and a considerable portion of their length on the other. As it is desirable that lightness and stiffness should be combined,

' wood is the best material for the nippers, the jaws being faced with metal.

The right-hand end of the lower rod Q, or the opposite end to the jaw, is rigidly attached to, though it may be adjustable on, a block S, which is capable of sliding on the lay-sole. The righthand end of the upper rod works freely through a guide q, attached to the block S, and is connected near the point of the jaw by a radius-link r. (Shown in dotted and also in red, lines in Fig. 5.) lthas a spring s, coiled round it within the guide q, which always tends to close it, and on its back side it has a stud t projecting from it, whose position is shown in Figs. l and 5. The nippers are caused to pass quickly through the open shed while the lay is finishing its backward motion, and to take the hair u, which is held in readiness by the server, and return with it through the warp by a transverse motion given to the block S by means of acam T on the harness-shaft, which acts upon a horizontally-vibrating lever U, whose front end operates on a picker-staff V, which is pivoted in front of the lay and connected with the block by means of a connecting-rod u, working through a slot in the lay-sole. Vhile the nippers are passing through the shed to the left side to fetch the filling they are kept closed by the spring 3 until the points ot the jaws have passed through the shed and have arrived opposite the server, when the stud t comes in contact with the righthand sword of the lay or with any suitable stop, and thus the traverse of t-he upper part of the nippers is arrested. This stop takes place when the block S has nearly arrived at the end of its traverse; but the continued motion of the lower jaw causes the upper one to be raised by the radius -link r, as may be understood by Fig. 5, where the nippers are shown closed in black and opened in red. lVhen the nippers are wide open, one jaw is above and the other below the hair U. As the block S commences traversing back to the right the jaw j) is allowed to deseen d, in doing which it knocks the hair down from the notch in the serving-hook, and when it comes quite down it grips the hair, carrying it through the warp as it continues its backward traverse. The ni ppers do not relinquish their hold of the hair unt-il the warp has beaten up the weft and the shed is closed, when, the closed shed holding it irmer than the ni ppers,they slip off. If, however, the nippers should not relinquish it readily enough, a fixed wedge may be applied at the breast beam, which may be made to open them as the lay beats up. rlhe drag `by which the weft hairs or threads are kept at a proper tension is placed near the left-hand end of the lay-sole. The lixed stud w is placed in an upright position near the edge of the warp at the back of the lay-sole. The movable finger stands upright and is attached to one end of a small lever Y of the iirst order, which, together with the linger, maybe made of bent wire with an eye made to tit a fulcrum-pin y. This lever is under the control of a spring Z, (see Fig. 7,) which when it is not otherwise influenced forces the linger x against the stud w. Then the lay is moved back,the iinger is drawn away from the stud to allow the nippers to pass between them by that arm of the lever on the opposite side of the fulcrum coming in contact with an arm e, attached to the frame for the purpose. As the nippers draw the hair into the Warp it must pass in front of the stud w. The lay commencing to move forward at about the same time as the nip# pers commence to move back with the hair, causes the lever Y to work free of the arm e, and the spring Z throws the finger x against the stud tu, pinching the hair gently between them. This drag only requires the hair to be long enough to protrude about half an inch at most on the left-hand-side of the Warp when drawn through; but a much greater length is required when the filling is put in by hand.

4 raises The nippcrs do not require so great a length ot` hair on the right side as is unavoidably Wasted in filling by hand. The saving eitected in the length of every hair of the filling is expected to be about an inch and a halt.

The loom may be made double or with two warps filled by one server with a suitable number of series of hooks and two pairs of nippers filling in opposite directions.

Vhatl claim as my invention, and de'sire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of the main connecting, rods E, links F, and radius-rods G, substantially as described, for giving the lay a motion, the forward part of which is accelerated and the backward part is retarded, for the purpose set forth.

2. The automatic server consisting of a block or head P, furnished with any number oi' hooks n or analogous devices arranged in any number of series according to the number of bunches of filling, hair, or threads and in order of succession, the said block or head being hung, substantially as described, on a pivot in such a position that when a proper amount ot' circular motion is given to it by suitable mechanism the hooks will withdraw the hairs from one or other of the bunches and bring them to a suitable position to be taken by the nippers or other device, which draws them through the warp.

3. A pair of nippers Q R, which are operated by suitablemechanism, substantially as described, to make their jaws pass through the warp from one side thereof every time the shed is opened, seize one or more hairs or threads from the opposite side, and return through the open shed with the same and release the same when it is beaten up and the shed is closed.

4c. The combination of the fixed stud w, finger lever Y, spring Z, and arm z, substantially as described, the stud, finger, and spring being for the purpose of producing a proper tension on the hairs or threads as they are being drawn through the shed, andthe lever and arm being for the purpose of moving the iinger to allow the nippers to pass in coming to fetch the hairs or threads.

JOHN QLEDUILL. Vitnesses:

O. D. MUNN, EL. PoLHAMUs. 

